Summary:
After visiting all of these sites, and reading all of the information in the links, I learned an incredible amount of information on the Dirty War. The Dirty War initially began on March 2, 1976, after the Argentine government was overthrown by a military junta. The first thing the military did was capture all of the citizens of Argentina that they perceived as threats or opponents. These people were captured against their will, and their families were not notified as to where they were, or if they were safe or not. The first place they captured was Tucuman Province, the second, Buenos Aires. The third raid was in Las Islas Malvinas. At each one of these places, the people were captured, taken to camps, and tortured. The military did this to exclude anyone from the public that was going against them. Unfortunately, they basically got the wrong people. Instead of going after the violent groups, they went after people that were social activists, Marxists, Jews, etc. The military were disguised as regular citizens, and they drove unmarked cars. The people who disappeared were labeled as Los Desaparecidos. None of these people were ever given trials, and their families were never notified as to where their bodies were, or whether or not they had been found. Nothing was ever recorded on their disappearances. The total number of disappearances even to this day, remains unknown. Most sources figure this number to be around 30,000 people. Many groups have decided to stand out, and to make their voices heard about this dilemma. One popular and successful group was the missing people’s mothers. When I looked at the vanished wall, one person that I researched was Delia Barrera. She was taken from Buenos Aires, and was missing for 92 days. One event she described was how chains on her hands and feet had, and was silenced by beatings. She was luckily found and survived this horrible event. During the time of the dirty war, most of the mothers didn’t serve in their economy, they simply worked as housewives. After their children disappeared, the mothers took action, and began searching for them, and for clues as to where they might be. Most places they went to, the concerned mothers were turned away. In Buenos Aires, a group of mothers banded together to search for clues about their children. In 1977, they became known as Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo, and there were 14 of them. This group of people would meet every week in a plaza in Buenos Aires, and simply march in circles, silently. Over time, many other mothers joined them, and along with becoming larger, they also became more effective as a strike group. Another group that had a similar strike plan was Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo. These people consisted of parents of pregnant women that had gone missing, as well as grandparents. This group’s main focus was to find the children that had disappeared. Parts of what they do are search out and locate children that were born in prisons, and attempt to return them to their rightful families. These groups play a large part in trying to clean up the effects of the Dirty War. Unlike most of the population, these groups see that what this military group did was wrong, and they are determined to do something about it.
Essay: Forgotten in Time
I am glad that I got the opportunity in this class about what was happening in the Dirty War, because without it, I would be clueless as to what happened during that time. I was absolutely shocked after I found out what happened to these innocent citizens of Argentina. They in no way deserved to have these sorts of things done to them, and I was appalled that those sorts of things could have happened, especially since they did not take place that long ago. However, I think that fact that the government is wanting to do nothing about it, is even more shocking than what was done. I think the government in Argentina should definitely do something about this situation, whether it is keep searching for the people, or give the missing people’s families something. Also, most importantly, I think that the people who did this, or who were involved with the kidnapping and torture of all these innocent people should be punished. In our country, if something like that happened, they would be given a suitable punishment for what they did. That is why I think the government in Argentina is all messed up, and is wrong. When I read more about the involvement of the United States in all of this, I was further shocked, because it said that the United States gave money and support to the military junta, which in this case is the bad guys, because they were the ones kidnapping people and overthrowing the government. This entire ordeal, with the kidnapping of people, reminded me so much of what Hitler did to the Jews. They had so many similarities, from the kidnapping of innocent people, to the torturing that they did. So many people died in this epic event, and I am shocked that as students, we didn’t learn any more about this. After all, it is a part of our world, and this affected a large amount of people in society. I also think it is far more interesting and important to learn about than things that happened almost 1,000 years ago. This event should certainly be discussed in one of our World History classes, because that is what it is. World History. One of the final things I researched on this topic was the cases that are still open and alive today. In fact, in 1989, a group of about 40 people attacked army barracks outside of Buenos Aires. 28 people were killed, 5 went missing, and 13 were sent to prison. In 1992 and in 1994, two bombs were set off in Buenos Aires, killing numerous Jewish people. In one of the bombings, 29 people were killed, and 242 people were injured in a car bombing. Two years later another car bomb devastated the community. Both of these cases are still under investigation, almost 17 years later. Which I don’t think is very impressive, because they should be doing more, because they have plenty of resources available to them. Many books and numerous films have been written about this event, and many have been sold. Another interesting thing I found on the sites was the Wall of Memory. It had tons and tons of pictures on it of the people who were missing. Having all the pictures in one spot really helped you to get a visual of just how many people this catastrophe affected in Argentina. Just like the Wall of Memory, when you looked at just the names it was also a significant amount of people. It’s almost hard to believe that all of these people had died, or went missing. This truly was an epic event. I hope that the support groups like the Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo and the Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo have success in the near future when fighting this. I am glad that someone in that area is standing up for what is right against the government, and making sure that the people whose lives were lost aren’t merely forgotten in time. And I know that it is impossible for this to happen, but I hope that people get found and are able to reunite with their families. And also, if there are people who are still out there, who don’t know anything about themselves, that they, too can be reunited, and start a new life.
Mi y mi amigas, Becky, Jordan, Megan P, y Cierra
Jordan Karissa y mi a la Everglades
Caimanes!
Me y un pequeño caimane 
piscina
Mi y mi amigas, Becky y Jordan. Voleibol!
Universal Studios, muy grande roller coaster!
Mi y mi amiga Jordan 
Amigas!
Es Mardi Gras a la Universal Studios. Muy divertido!
Muy muy grande roller coaster! 
Mi y mi amiga Karissa a la St. Augastine
St. Augastine
Grupo a la St. Augastine
Bailar en la calle
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Ballena a la Sea World
Sea World
Mi y mi amiga Jordan
Sea World
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Grande roller coaster, la "manta"
Sea World
